Tag: book-review

book-review, books, Family Drama, literature, reading

Shelter

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Sometimes things just happen. This winter it has been many things. From a concussed child (cheerleading as a contact sport), a cheating scandal (who knew it is wrong to share views of your work with a “friend”?), family members with a minor stroke, a broken femur, a stay in rehab, monthly shots in the eye(s), and a brand new boss in the mix (first time with a boss in the same country in over 10 years), I have had my fair share. As I look around, however, I see myself still working toward the goals I set when I was much younger, trying to do at least as well as my parents. With college bills coming down the road fast, retirement is nowhere on the horizon.  It is from this place that I began listening to Barbara Kingsolver’s Unsheltered.

This book is a combination of two stories from the same location. We start with Willa, named after the famous author, in her new house that appears to be falling down around her – literally. She receives a call from her son, a brand new father, to say that his partner, Helene had just committed suicide. Their son had been in the bassinet, and was crying like crazy, which is what made Zeke go look in on Helene.  A funeral is made, bags are packed – the house, the car, and the credit card debt all belonged in Helene’s name. Zeke made a pilgrimage to his parent’s home in Vineland with his newborn infant and staggering student debt. He joins his parents, Willa and Yanno, his sister Tig, and Yanno’s father Nick.  Nick is an immigrant from Greece who rails against everyone who is not white or has the same beliefs as he does. He is diabetic, on oxygen, and nearing the end of his life. Yanno had spent years working toward tenure, but never achieving it.  The family had been moving down the rankings at colleges in search of this elusive ticket to a future, security, and an ability to say they succeeded. Tig, who had left the family and come back after a clandestine stay in Cuba, was forever bucking the staunch economic grab of father political scientist and brother economist. She was the scientist that looked at what was there and did not expect more.

In the earlier era, Thatcher brings his wife, sister in law, Polly and their mother back to Vineland after being cast off when their father died and left them penniless in Boston at the mercy of a relative.  Thatcher Goodnow brought them back to the house they loved. That house, designed and built by their father, was falling down around them.  Thatcher, hired as a high school science teacher, was not wealthy, as his wife’s family had been at one time. With the return to the family home, the ladies began to act that way again.  Thatcher saw no way to support these ways, and was fearful he would need to make them leave again.  He was at odds with the school’s principal and the town’s founding father Landry about the theory of evolution.  Thatcher’s neighbor, Mary Treat, was a scientist. She was in contact with Charles Darwin and other prominent scientists of the day.  It was the connection between Thatcher and Mary that helped him understand what was important and what he valued.

This was where things all join.  The two stories are about being open to observing that changes are happening, if you want them to or not. You need to examine what it means, and how you should adapt.  It is those that adapt that will survive.  Do with what you have, enjoy those around you, and know when it is good to retreat.

books, literature, reading

When Giants Fall – Re-examining a favorite author

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Since I read the Nick Adams stories, way back in high school, I have been a fan of Hemingway’s writing. I do admit that I felt a connection, since Horton’s Bay is somewhere I used to walk to on rainy days from my camp on Lake Charlevoix – I had been told that the camp’s property was next to that of Hemingway’s. In college I discovered In Our Times, The Sun Also Rises, and A Farewell to Arms.  He became my favorite writer, and I discovered my father’s favorite too.  I reveled in the crisp, clear sentences, the Code, and the adventure.  Then “people” started questioning why I would like the writing of a sexist man, especially since I am a staunch feminist?  The answer, I found, was as complicated as the author.

In my college years, and many before and after, I clung to the Code that Hemingway had laid out for a Real Man. This code, in my view, is that a person must be strong, embrace life wholly, be open to all possibilities, and always be true to themselves. That meant savoring each bite, drinking the last drop, and being with the person you like right now.  The crazy thing I saw missing from my critic’s view was that in The Sun Also Rises, Brett lived this code perfectly. She did as she pleased regardless of convention. This is why I had loved this book better than the critic’s favorite For Whom the Bell Tolls.  Maria’s passiveness and awakening only with Robert near her seemed simpering to me.

Then I was awakened myself.  I read The Paris Wife, a fictional account of Hemingway’s first marriage. The references to Sherwood Anderson, and others whom were cast off later by “Papa” made me curious.  I took to my father’s bookshelf and snagged Winesberg, Ohio.  Sure enough, the loosely connected stories were crisp and clear, with a code of their own.  Written well before In Our Time.  And I concluded that each of Hemingway’s best works were written when starting a new relationship with a woman that lived his hero’s code better than he did.

Yesterday, when I was reporting my completed reading to my goodreads.com challenge group, I saw that someone was reading Winesberg, Ohio.  After I mentioned that it would make her question Hemingway’s genius, someone shared with me the link to Ellen N. La Motte’s The Backwash of War.  It seems that the model of writing Hemingway laid claim to developing was actually from both Anderson and La Motte.  La Motte’s book has been made available from the Guttenberg Project, and is accessible free of charge from libraries and amazon.  I have just downloaded this, and I am now entering into an uncomfortable place where I need to rethink my reactions to the writing of Hemingway even more deeply. Even if uncomfortable, I will put myself into action (code requirement), be true to myself (code requirement) and decide what I must without looking back (code requirement.)

I will let you know what happens…..

book-review, books, literature, reading

death with a small “d”

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I have been struggling to complete a book, Death with Interruptions by Jose Santiago, that had sounded amazing to me. The description on the dust cover was compelling me to read this book. Yet, whenever I picked up the book, I dreaded moving forward. The story plodded along, the structure was where basic punctuation was not included. Paragraphs were pages long. Dialogue was not distinguished between people. The book lulls you into a state everything is expected, yet nothing is.  It is in this manner that the book discusses how death (with a small d) decides not to work after the New Year begins.

At first, everyone is surprised, happy even, to have beaten death at her own game. They celebrate until they realize the consequences. First the funeral directors, then hospitals and assisted living facilities, Insurance companies and even the church, all struggle to find meaning for themselves in this strange world. Families are left watching those they love suffer indefinitely. They can bear it no longer, and neither can those that suffer. A way to put the balance of life back in order is found. Profiteers abound to take over and the money cycle, just like the life cycle, begins again.  As the country adjusts to a new “normal” death again steps in. A letter, on violet stationary, is received by a minister of government, and the contents are announced on television. Every person going forward will receive a letter one week in advance to allow them to settle affairs. This continues until a letter is returned, not once but twice to death.

As she explores the reasons why this would happen, as never before had death’s call been challenged in such a way, she begins to follow the cellist the card was meant for. She takes human form and presents herself to him. In the end, she stays in his embrace.

The metaphor this provides is overwhelming. The more we change the order of life, the expectations of life, the more the world works to change it back. Yet, at its core, this is a story of a need for connected-ness. How to connect a family instead of tearing it apart with death. How to allow for closure before dying. How to embrace life before letting go.

So glad I finished this. It was just hard to do. Just like life.

skull-reaper-linocut-illustration

book-review, books, literature, reading

Off to a Slow Start

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The polar vortex may only be headed my way right now, but my brain appears to be frozen. While I may seem to be off to a good start of my new reading goals, I am not spending the time doing the actual reading lately. I have all these books checked out of the library, and I have picked them up and opened them, but for some reason I don’t understand, I am struggling to dive in.

My current theory is that the new ice age that seems to be starting is what is paralyzing me.

Not really, but maybe?

Sometimes, even if you are a big reader, you just need some time to be you. I notice that when I dive into a book, just like the water, I become immersed within the people and place. I put the book down reluctantly. The feelings and sensations that are tied to the book come with me – and not everyone around me understands because they had not been on that journey with me only 2 minutes ago, even if I was sitting next to them.

It is in this frame of mind that I listened to Autumn by Ali Smith. This story is a combination of memories and dreams of the main characters. Childhood for Elisabeth was greatly influenced by her neighbor, Daniel. She spent many hours with him as an “unpaid babysitter” after moving in when she was 10. He helps her see the world through new eyes. Each time he greeted her, he asked what she had been reading lately. He also played a game of describing art to her with words. She went on to study art at University and ended up writing her dissertation on the artist’s work that Daniel had described to her as a child. Throughout the story, Elisabeth is sitting by the bed as Daniel is unconscious near the end of his life. As her mother enjoys a newfound life, and Elisabeth is asked to face what her next step is, the concept of what is love is explored – between friends, across ages, regardless of gender. How you approach your life at each stage is important. Knowing what book you are reading – even if you are just thinking about it, opens all sort of new worlds to you. If you only let it.

architecture buildings business city
Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on Pexels.com
book-review, Indigenous American, literature, reading

Stormy weather, here and in books

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It was during this dark week that I finished the book Solar Storm by Linda Hogan. I have needed some time and space to process the horrifying and scary things that have occurred in the last week, as well as to process the complex story that Ms Hogan presents. As in life, this fiction has the roots of the hurt come from centuries of hate, mistrust and misunderstanding. As in fiction, hopefully life will follow; understanding, acceptance and change come next.

This is a multifaceted tale, focusing on generations of family and conflict, centered on the fictitious tribe, now known as The Fat Eaters, but truly known as The Beautiful People.  The tale begins as Angela Jensen, a 17 year old child in the foster care system, returns to stay with relatives she just discovered searching her social services file. It is here she comes to find herself, answers to the questions around the scars that mark her face, and to learn more of whom she comes from. While there she comes to know her family, her history, her gifts, and her strengths. She comes to accept herself, and her ability to adapt to the world that has changed around her, while remaining true to herself.

This book takes time to read and time to process. As the world changes slowly, the tale unfolds, one step backwards in time, then one forward. Just as the river runs on its own pace, so does the story. Similar in voice and pacing to Louise Erdrich, this seems to be a pace that is native to these tribes. Nothing is told outright, all is hinted at. You learn by listening with your heart, and seeing with new eyes.  And when the earth is to be harmed by the building of a dam, change was forced upon them. Outside intervention changes the course of the water, and impacts plants, animals and people in ways never expected.

The dam, while a fictional tale (as noted in the preface from the author) is a story that is based in truth.  In the early 1970s the Hydro-Quebec began development of a dam at James Bay on Cree and Inuit lands without permission. The hunting and fishing grounds that these tribes relied on were flooded, which resulted in mercury poisoning, entering the food chain and directly impacted these tribes.  The forced modernization that was described in the book also happened at this time. This arrogance of the company, and it’s devastating and irreversible impact on the ecosystems and the people who live on it, is shocking in its breadth and destructive power.

As the tribes band together to demand to be heard, we all need to listen. If we would only listen to the water and the earth, maybe we could all find similarities in what we learn instead of differences.  And maybe we can learn to live together in the harmony of the earth and water.

time lapse photo of stars on night
Photo by Jakub Novacek on Pexels.com
books, reading

How do you let go of the world you live in and move on? Or How to choose the next book you will read

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Leaving behind a world when you put down a book can be hard.  You have been invested in these people’s lives, and now the story is over – if you want it to be or not.  Sometimes there are other ways to continue (the next book in the series), and sometimes there are not.  Either way, you need to re-enter your own reality, and then decide how to move on.

If you are anything like me, you become fully vested and are impacted by the people we visit in our books.  When I finish a book I need some time to process what I have just experienced and re-enter my own world.  Some books need more processing than others.  A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison, an amazingly written and compelling story about a very difficult topic, left me stunned for days after.  Even now, months later, I am impacted by the story.  Other books do not leave as deep an imprint upon me, and are easier to move on from.

So, how then do we choose our next book?  As always, that depends.  I have been challenged to find the “perfect” answer and have tried different ways, all with hit or miss results.  Here are some of the ways I have tried.

I maintain lists of books that have been recommended to me either directly or from another source, such as Princeton Book Review, Wall Street Journal, and even Buzzfeed Books.  I keep these with information on the book in the list, and see what hits me as interesting at that time.  It was from these sources that I found A Walk Across the Sun.

If you are part of a book group, you can easily use that as the next book to read.  If you finish that one in plenty of time, it can be great to read others by that author or on that topic to have a deeper discussion around the original book.  As a book group facilitator myself, I do this.  My group read Look for Me by Edeet Ravel. I didn’t realize when the book was selected that it was a second one in a trilogy.  I was so captivated by the writing and the mood this book I immediately went to read Ten Thousand Lovers, the first book.

I receive books from friends and family that they think I need to read.  I will pick these up when I have some open time and nothing that I am burning to read.  My mother-in-law keeps trying to give me her old books, but I have read most of them already.  My mother, who is currently a member of 3 book groups, also gives me books and book titles (she is another library user – that is where I got it from.)

I try different websites, and the Goodreads.com recommendations of IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE…..  all with varying levels of success.

In short, like how you meet new people, you need to just put yourself out there and start the relationship in as many ways as possible, because you never know when you will meet “the one”.

books, reading

Graphic Novels: Complex themes/unorthodox medium – an examination in the similarities of Maus and Persepolis

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This year I have been striving to be open to read different types of books than I normally would.  As part of a book group challenge on Goodreads.com, I started looking for illustrated books for adults.  What I found was so much more than comic books.

As I looked through titles, I noticed Maus, a book I had not heard of before.  My husband, and other East Coasters I spoke with had all read this in high school. I got this from the library (I am attempting to not spend money on a book this year, and our library is so amazing I want to support them), and started reading.  By the time I put the book down later that day, I was already itching to read the second one, which I did the next day.

A month later, my daughter asked me to proofread a paper for school on Persepolis, a graphic novel about the overthrow of the Shah in Iran in the late 1970s.  This time I requested BOTH volumes 1 and 2 at the same time.  That turned out to be a smart move.

In addition to both sets of graphic novels leaving me wanting more, there were striking similarities between these.  Both were autobiographical, dealing with war and oppression.  The dark themes of losing yourself, of exile from home, and of leaving behind pain are shown.  The method of the graphic novel, while making things seem “more casual” actually illuminate the history of two corrupt regimes very well.  Both periods in history show how brutal people can become in the quest for power.  The pictures help make the horrors easier to face.  There are no real faces or photos, creating a barrier for both the reader and the writer to get through the story. Maus goes so far as to depict Jews as mice, Germans as Cats and Poles as pigs, a further statement on the state of humankind.

Underpinning both stories of survival and self-discovery, both books exhibit the traits of survivor’s guilt.  Persepolis’ Marji had been able to escape the ravages of war and oppression as a displaced and lonely teenager in Vienna, but needed to return to her home before realizing she didn’t fit in there, either.  She was ultimately able to leave her country behind, but never her guilt of leaving.  It was only with the second departure that she understood that her mother, while loving her deeply, wanted Marji to live in a world where she could be more than was being allowed in Iran.

Within Maus, the survivorship takes on more layers.  Not only did he exist in the shadow of his dead brother who died in the war as did the majority of the family, but Art survived of his own mother’s suicide.  It was Art’s dealing with this guilt in an underground comic strip that lead him to ask his father’s story – to learn more of his mother.

As noted in Persepolis, it will take generations for the people to truly heal. Both stories show the evils of extremism and intolerance.  If we could all look at the world with the veil over our eyes to see only drawings, maybe we can see the complex truth in the simple lines.

 

books, literature, reading

My Journey Begins

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Thanks for joining me!

“For one who reads, there is no limit to the number of lives that may be lived”  Louis L’Amour

My love with reading goes back to when I was a child.  I would lose myself in a book that made my world so much more fun and exciting.  I remember reading under the covers with flashlights and hiding books under my bed. In middle school, I was asked to run the student bookstore.  By the time I could get a “real” job, I was a page at our public library.  I continued to work at libraries throughout my college career.  The libraries, be them public or restricted, general or specialty, all called to me.  They were a safe place to be, full of friends and opportunities.

While I pursued a career outside of library science, my love of books and libraries has never waned.  I achieved a graduate degree at night school while I was working full time.  As graduation gifts my friends all gave me novels – the thing I missed most when I had homework.  I helped launch a book group for a non-profit organization, which I led for 3+ years before moving on.  I married and had children, bringing me back to books I loved.  My children loved to read with me.  They were in pre-school and kindergarten when they asked for a WII.  My husband and I decided they had to read 100 books together in order to earn this.  We didn’t care they were early readers or picture books, but they had to add the titles to the list on the fridge when they were done.  We have used this for other things too.

Then I turned 49.  A good friend asked me what I was going to do in my 50th year.  That got me thinking – what should I do?  That was when I created what I called the 50 for 50 challenge for myself.  I would read a best seller from the New York Times best seller list from the week of my birth for each year I have been alive, avoiding any re-reads and selecting from the top 10 (not necessarily the number one).

 Since that time I have continued to track my books, in excel.  I can look back and see if I have read something, and know how many I have read.  In the past few months people have begun to ask me for recommendations of books.  That made me think I should share my thoughts on titles I have read and want to read.  This is my journey – to share my love of reading with others so we can all be better people.

The blog title comes from The Source – James A Michener’s book.  This title that was number one on the New York Times Best Seller List on the day I was born.  I look forward to sharing this journey with you all.

Karen